Former England spinner and commentator, Graeme Swann, has cheekily suggested that the Indian cricket team send their second-string team to Australia to win the T20 World Cup 2022 later this year after the touring side defeated England by 50 runs in the first T20I on July 7.
In the absence of first-choice players such as Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant, who were all rested following the rescheduled Test, Arshdeep Singh (2/18), Suryakumar Yadav (39), Deepak Hooda (33) and Hardik Pandya (51, 4/33) performed admirably to lead India to a 50-run win over England in the first T20I.
Graeme Swann told Sony Sports: “India should send their B team to Australia and probably win the World Cup. I think it's a great idea that you bring a load of players in. You got a winning team and completely change that in the 2nd game against England.”
He added, “I would like you to do that, India, please. Because this XI will beat England in 2 day's time, even if you bring in world-class players like Bumrah, Kohli, and Pant, it upsets the balance that has played so well. Of course, they will come back into the team because of who they are. But if you are the England team, I would be looking for any way to upset the rhythm.”
Meanwhile, Swann further suggested that Kohli should open alongside Rohit Sharma in T20I cricket as he feels batting in the middle overs is not going to work for the former captain.
Swann explained, “Virat Kohli comes in, he opens the batting, instead of Kishan. That is what I would do. When you have got a player as good as Virat, you don't want him to bat at No. 3 in the middle overs because he is not scoring as quickly as SKY or Hooda when they first come in because that's not his game.”
He concluded, “When Rohit is batting so well at the other end, scoring quickly, Virat will follow and do the same thing. Kohli and Sharma score heavily at the top, Hooda, and SKY (Suryakumar) can follow suit.”
